The EU calls for “peaceful, inclusive and transparent” elections in Equatorial Guinea

BRUSSELS, Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The European Union has demanded that Equatorial Guinea prepare “peaceful, inclusive and transparent” elections on November 20, in which the current president, Teodoro Obiang, 80, will once again present himself as the ruling party’s candidate.

“The citizens of Equatorial Guinea have the right to participate in an open, free and peaceful electoral process and to exercise, without restrictions or discrimination of any kind, their freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association”, stated the European External Action Service.

The statement coincides with the start of the campaign for the presidential, legislative and municipal elections and the EU hopes that both the authorities and “all political actors” work so that “the rule of law is respected.”

Equatorial Guinea has 18 legalized political parties, although in practice there is no opposition with real options to offer an alternative to Obiang, whose political future was in doubt due to speculations that pointed to an imminent transfer of power to his son ‘Teodorín’.